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Morphology and Structural Features of the Subduction Zone in the Vicinity of Kuril–Kamchatka–Aleutian Junction

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Abstract

The specific morphology of the inner and outer slopes of the eastern Kuril–Kamchatka Trench were revealed based on joint study of bathymetry and seismic profiles obtained in two RV Sonne cruises and previous investigations. Three segments of ocean floor differing in relief, thickness of sediments and tectonic activity were distinguished on the outer slope. Their subduction under Eastern Kamchatka governs the recent morphology of the accretionary wedge in the area between the Krusenstern Fault and Uglovoe Rise. The Krusenstern Fault, Obruchev Rise, and Naturalist Fault control segmentation of the trench’s island slope and seismic regime in this section of Kuril–Kamchatka subduction zone.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the chief scientist of cruise SO201-2 aboard the R/V Sonne, Prof. W.Ch. Dullo, and to the captain, crew and scientists of cruises SO201-1a and SO201-2 for their support during bathymetric and seismic surveys.

Funding

The expeditions were funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (project no. 03G0201B and a project award to the head of the KALMAR project, Prof. W.Ch. Dullo), the participation of Russian scientists was funded by grants from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, the Russian Science Foundation, and the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This study was carried out under the state task of the IO RAS (topic no. FMWE-2021-0004).

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Correspondence to B. V. Baranov or Ch. Gaedicke.

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Baranov, B.V., Tsukanov, N.V., Gaedicke, C. et al. Morphology and Structural Features of the Subduction Zone in the Vicinity of Kuril–Kamchatka–Aleutian Junction. Oceanology 62, 528–539 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437022040026

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